UPDATE No 45

SOUTH PROPERTY

Owned Leased

Examination of the Minutes of Tottenham and Wood Green Councils, the rating records for these two Districts, the 1910 Finance Act survey and the River House deeds, has established that, at the time his death in 1919, Samuel South(1) either owned or leased substantial parcels of land and properties adjacent to the boundaries of both Boroughs.   The properties comprised the ownership of River House and Pipers Court and the lease of Devonshire Hill Farm from the New River Company together with the surrounding fields (42 acres) extending (off the map) westwards to the junction with Wolves Lane. The majority of the directly owned land (35 acres) was acquired by Tottenham Council in 1920 for the development of local authority housing (See Update No. 41). Certain of the leased land abutting the South pottery was purchased for future development of the pottery Continuing research into the history of the various land transactions is being undertaken at London Metropolitan Archives.

ANN SOUTH

Update No. 28 provided a list of the children of Joseph and Emma South traced to that date (also Clara - see Update No. 39). The suggestion that their eldest child, Ann, did not survive to maturity has proved unfounded. Through the South website contact has been made with Professor Chris Haines, her great great grandson, who has provided information about her family. Ann South (b. circa 1846) married William Passaway at West Hackney Parish Church on 28 March 1869, five months after the death of her mother, Emma, and the same period of time before the marriage of her father, Joseph, to his second wife, Mary Ann Dutton. Together with her brothers, Joseph, Solomon and Samuel(1), Ann had remained in the UK after Joseph emigrated to New Zealand in 1874. She pre-deceased her husband, possibly in 1898, and at the time of the 1901 Census, William is described as a widower although he may re-married at a later date.  Nine children from the marriage have been identified to date and Chris Haines is descended from the fourth child, Gertrude (b. 1874). Her younger brother, John (b. 1879), was employed as a potter between 1893-1914 whilst living at addresses in Tottenham and Wood Green. The reasonable assumption must be that he was working for his uncle, Samuel South(1), at his White Hart Lane pottery. It is possible that John appears in the group photograph (circa 1895) of South employees (Update No. 30). This additional information explains other references to the Passaway family in the South records. Hilda Beech had identified a number of the guests appearing in the 1899 group wedding photograph of Samuel South(2) and his bride, Emily Maud King. Two of the guests were identified as "Passaway (nephew))" and "Miss Passaway" - see below. Presumably, both were children of Ann who were attending the wedding of their cousin. As the precise date of Ann's death has not been established it is not known whether she is amongst the guests. Also, the report of the funeral of Samuel(1) that appeared in the Weekly Herald, 17 January 1919, includes a Mr. Passway (an alternative spelling) as one of the mourners in the main procession.

"Miss Passaway" "Passaway (nephew)"

SAMUEL SOUTH(2)

On Saturday 16 June 1956 Samuel(2) passed away at the Wood Green & Southgate Cottage Hospital after a short illness and three months from his eightieth birthday. He was taken ill over the previous weekend but felt well enough to take his usual Sunday morning walk to the Potteries. His condition deteriorated and he was admitted to Wood Green Cottage Hospital the following day suffering from a perforated ulcer. During the course of the week, he was visited by members of his family and the writer recalls walking to the hospital after school to enquire about his grandfather. Samuel(2) suffered a stroke and died on 16 June 1956. The funeral took place on Thursday, 21 June 1956 arranged by W Nodes Ltd , High Road, Wood Green. The cortege assembled outside New River House, 139 Devonshire Hill Lane, Tottenham. Three Daimler hearses carried over 130 wreathes and floral tributes received together with ten Rolls Royce limousines for the official mourners. His widow, Emily Maud, was conveyed in the Armstrong Siddeley that Samuel had bought some twenty years before and in which they had enjoyed many journeys. She was accompanied by her three surviving sons, Samuel(3), Charles and James ("Jim"). Charles Tompkins, a long serving employee, was the driver. The cortege travelled east along Devonshire Hill Lane passing the White Hart Public House that stood on the site of the orchard of the former family home (River House) and, turning left into Devonshire Road, entered White Hart Lane opposite Pipers Court. Travelling west towards the Potteries, the employees of E G Cole & Son, the rival pottery, stood in tribute outside their premises as the procession passed. The hearse bearing the coffin paused in front of the entrance to Samuel South & Sons that had closed for the day of the funeral. Samuel(2) had made his last journey to the Potteries where he had started work at the age of twelve.. Proceeding via Perth Road and Lordship Lane, the cortege arrived at St Benet Fink Church. The service was conducted by the Prebendary Dean of Tottenham, the Reverend C F Waton. Roland Read, president of the Wood Green Rotary Club, addressed the congregation: "I am indeed grateful for the opportunity afforded me as President of the Rotary Club of Wood Green to voice a sincere tribute to our very dear and respected member Sam. There are many of his fellow Rotarians present at this Service and it is my privilege to express on their behalf, our pride at having had Sam. amongst us for over twenty eight years. He was selected President as long ago as 1936 and has been an active member ever since.........We looked upon Sam as a real old English Gentleman (a character one does not often meet) and his sound advice was always welcomed and appreciated in the club. A Rotarian should aim at high ethical standards, regular attendance, a ready acquiescence when called upon to take a job, always big hearted, broad minded, thinking fairly and acting justly. Sam, had all these qualities which were evident to all who knew him, and his interpretation of these Standards will for ever remain outstanding example to us all............Sam always lived up to our motto 'Service before Self'". After the service, the cortege made its way onto the Great Cambridge Road (A 10) and travelled north, with a police escort, to Edmonton Cemetery for the committal. The traffic lights at the junction with White Hart Lane changed to red as the hearses passed through and Samuel(3) instructed Charles Tompkins to follow them against the light. The remainder of the procession of cars followed this example. The funeral was an impressive and a fitting tribute to a man who had contributed significantly to local business life and the community. The spread of his interests and the regard in which he was held was exemplified by the floral tributes and letters of condolence that were received from a wide circle of friends, business acquaintances and local organisations. KLB  6/05